


Sweet Dreams

by thirdtimecharmed



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Narcolepsy, Nightmares, Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-15
Updated: 2011-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-19 10:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirdtimecharmed/pseuds/thirdtimecharmed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trolls and kids meet in the veil. Shenanigans ensue. Wrote this for a friend's birthday, she ships it more than I do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Dreams

            He looked angry. Of course, he always looked mildly irritated, but that was usually all. At this particular moment, though, it was especially exaggerated. His eyebrows seemed to drill into his forehead as he watched his so called friends meet for the first time.

            The clamor in the room grew as trolls recognized kids and greeted them exuberantly. Everyone seemed to be in shock, either awkwardly hovering near their online friends like John, tackle hugging with no regard for personal space like Nepeta, or softly greeting their friends like Kanaya as she sidled up to Rose. His temples throbbed, and as Jade watched, he massaged them with one hand.

            She couldn’t help feeling guilty for looking forward to this. It was bedlam, and getting worse, and even though she was glad to see the people she had been talking to for years, Karkat didn’t seem to be taking it too well. Sick beats started thudding from somewhere and she couldn’t help but chuckle even as he grimaced further.

            Seeing this, she bit her lip. They stood about ten feet apart, completely unbeknownst to him. Certainly it was creepy, but he didn’t actually seem approachable as he glowered at the happy chaos surrounding him.

            For the umpteenth time, she moved to talk to him, maybe distract him from his obvious frustration, and once more her feet stuttered and she almost tripped over herself. Something kept holding her back, and she continued to duck behind the blocky equipment scattered around the veil. She tried to rationalize her behavior, and continued to tell herself she wasn’t hiding from him; she was hiding from Tavros who kept following her, or from Eridan who was doing the same in a much clingier manner.

            She was not afraid of talking to Karkat. That would be ridiculous. They spoke all the time, to the point where she mentally filled in his ridiculous rages before they happened. Talking to him was nothing new. Seeing him, however was different, and she couldn’t tell why. Her hesitation frustrated even herself, and she cursed her newfound shyness.

            Sighing, she decided to at least greet other people and trolls she hadn’t spoken to yet. Feferi smiled at her from across the room, waving excitedly, and of course one can never lavish too much affection on their ectobiolobrother. Jade was moving to abandon her hiding place when a gusty irritated sigh turned her attention back to her irritated comrade.

            The reason soon became clear. Shrieking, staticky microphone noise shattered the ears of everyone in the lab, and loud noises of protest were heard as everyone clamped their hands over their ears. A quick sweep of the room was enough to discover the source. Somehow, Dave and Terezi had found a stage and… was that a karaoke machine? As Dave announced the arrival of “DJ Strider” to “this pad,” it became clear that yes, that was indeed a karaoke machine.

            Karkat’s ill concealed rage would have been funnier if she wasn’t so worried he would boil over. His fists clenched tightly along with the rest of his body as everyone rushed to the stage to sign up for songs. It was only as the first stanzas of “99 problems and a bitch ain’t one” began blasting over the loudspeakers that he lost it.

            “YOU FUCKASSES,” he hollered, turning everyone’s attention to him, “IF YOU WANT TO SING SHITTILY, PICK A DECENT SONG AT LEAST.”

            Before Dave had a chance to defend his song title with all the irony he could muster, Karkat continued his own spiel.

            “SERIOUSLY YOU ARE ALL IMBECILES,” he continued, “WHY AM I EVEN HERE RIGHT NOW?”

            Terezi and John both opened their mouths to offer very different reasons Karkat was there, but neither of them got the chance to say anything. He stormed out the door, slamming it behind him to the general chagrin of everyone in the room.

            While the general consensus may have been to just ignore the asshole, Jade was the only one who had been paying any attention beforehand. Softly, she slipped out of the room to follow him, leaving everyone else to their own devices.

            As she wandered through the labyrinthine corridors, she worried that this may have been a mistake. Even if she didn’t get lost, who was to say she wouldn’t get cursed into next Tuesday. Thinking about it farther, she started giggling, because that would hardly be a new experience for her. Arguments with him were unavoidable, and occurred with a regularity that would amaze most people. Still, they stayed friends, partly out of convenience and partly out of Jade’s innate ability to understand the reason behind his mercurial moods better than anyone else, making her more able to forgive and forget, standing in stark contrast to those who mocked him and the ones that were hurt by the sudden outbursts.

            She was so lost in thought as she wandered the halls that she nearly tripped over him when she finally found him.

            “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING DIPSHI- OH HI HARLEY,” he said, seeing her, “WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU IN THERE? I THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED OR SOMETHING.”

            “Hi Karkat!” she said, surprised, “I was there, I promise!”

            “ACTUALLY WHY ARE YOU OUT HERE BOTHERING ME?” he asked, “SHOULDN’T YOU BE IN THERE SINGING SOME DIPSHIT HUMAN SONG WITH THE REST OF THOSE MORONS?”

            Jade laughed.

            “I hadn’t said hi to you yet! And you seemed kind of upset honestly, so I wanted to check on you!” she said. He just sighed.

            “YOU ARE SO WEIRD HARLEY. GO HAVE FUN.”

            “Sorry to say this but karaoke isn’t much fun for me,” she said. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

            “YEAH WHATEVER,” he grumbled, waving dismissively. Rolling her eyes, she took it as an invitation and slid down to sit next to him on the floor.

            “So are you okay?” she asked, turning to face him. For some reason, he was hesitant to make eye contact, so he focused on his shoe, which he fiddled with.

            “ASIDE FROM AN EARSPLITTING HEADACHE AND AN OVERINFUSION OF COMPLETE FUCKING IDIOCY, I’M FINE. JUST FUCKING DANDY, REALLY.”

            “Oh so it’s a headache!” she said triumphantly.

            “YEAH CONGRATULATIONS,” he replied bitingly, “SO GLAD MY PAIN MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, AT LEAST I’M USEFUL.”

            “No, no, that’s not it!” she said, laughing, somewhat to his surprise. “See I thought you had a headache, and I was right!”

            “GREAT,” he mumbled, massaging his forehead once more.

            “I am sorry you’re in pain though,” she said, looking at him pityingly, much to his chagrin.

            “YEAH WELL I’LL BE FINE.”

            “You know, if you slept, you wouldn’t be so cranky all the time!”

            “I’M NOT FUCKING CRANKY, EVERYONE ELSE IS JUST SENSITIVE. REALLY YOU PEOPLE CAN’T TAKE A JOKE.”

            “Sure we can’t,” she said skeptically. “You’re just angelic all the time, Karkat! We don’t appreciate you enough.”

            “THAT’S FOR GODDAMN SURE,” he answered, missing her sarcasm completely.

            “You are tired, aren’t you!” she said, “Usually you’d be complaining about that!”

            “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE HERE TO DEAL WITH IT,” he pointed out, still surly.

            “Someone has to!” she insisted.

            “NO NOT REALLY. YOU COULD ALL LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONCE IN MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE.”

            Before she came back with another retort, she stopped herself. Sure, she was getting angry, but what had she been expecting? Certainly not hugs and rainbows and sunshine, that was out of the question, but maybe she had hoped for at least common courtesy, and yet there he was, cussing as usual and throwing yet another temper tantrum. Her outrage and irrational annoyance were on the rise, when he yawned, and his whole angry face collapsed.

            She was almost entranced by the momentary change, as he went from ridiculously furious to simply worn out. He rubbed his eyes, and caught her staring.

            “JEGUS WHAT IS IT?” he asked.

            “Oh, uhh, nothing!” she replied, trying to smile. Normally, it wouldn’t have been nearly convincing enough, but with him in his tired state, almost anything could slip under the radar, “You just seem really tired!”

            “NO FUCKING DUH HARLEY.” He rolled his eyes, “I HAVEN’T SLEPT IN WHAT, DAYS? THAT’S THE HUMAN THING YOU GUYS USE RIGHT?”

            “Why has it been so long?” she asked, “that’s such a long time to go without sleep!”

             “WE’VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE,” he grumbled, “THE NIGHTMARES ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH, I’M NOT ABOUT TO GO LOOKING FOR THEM.”

            Jade frowned. Now that Prospit and Derse were gone, she had fallen prey to the horroterrors more than anyone else; her narcoleptic attacks struck without warning. Still, she had a mission.

            “They aren’t that bad!” she lied insistently, “you get used to them!”

            “I DON’T WANT TO GET USED TO THOSE TENTACLEY FUCKFACES INVADING MY SLEEP,” he shot back. “NOT MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME.”

            “Karkat you’ll have to sleep eventually!” Jade said, “You can’t go forever!”

            “I CAN GODDAMN TRY,” he said stubbornly, stifling another yawn. Jade rolled her eyes. This was not the first time they had had this argument, and she suspected it wouldn’t be the last. As she opened her mouth to try and answer back, she felt the familiar fuzziness intruding on the edges of her mind. Damnit not now! Now would the the worst… possible… time.

            She was gone. Karkat stared incredulously at the girl currently passed out on his shoulder. She had been speaking seconds ago, and now she was gone. Her soft breathing sounded almost soothing to his tired self, and to be honest the sight of her sleeping peacefully supported her argument better than anything else she could have said.

            Her face was serene, with no signs of abominations invading her dreams. In fact, she seemed almost too comfortable where she was, as she snuggled closer to Karkat unwittingly. He couldn’t avoid the slight blush on his face, even as he hoped she didn’t awaken soon; she was comfortable. And warm.. and he was so tired.

            Despite all of his best instincts, Karkat felt himself beginning to drift off as well. He clung desperately to consciousness, but the steady rhythmic breathing of Jade, combined with his own tiredness, won out in the end.

            Three hours later, John went hunting for the two of them, finally noticing they were gone. They were both slumped up against the wall, leaning heavily on each other, sleeping soundly, no signs of distress on their faces. Merely comfortable.

             


End file.
